Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords: The Poison Pill (Story)

It wasn’t surprising that the defeat of Vhiski led to uncovering another Sandpoint menace: Aliver “Pillbug” Podiker. Seelah and Seoni agreed they couldn’t leave this villain on the loose but knew time was of the essence. They agreed to split up. Seelah along with her standard bearer Starla would see what information they could gather at the city gate, while Seoni would take her acolyte Amy and Trevin the troubadour to canvas the town square.

Upon arriving at the city gate, Seelah met a sage.

“Excuse me, wise one, might I ask you a few questions?”

The woman looked at Seelah for a moment. “My dear, I don’t believe you know the real questions you wish to ask.” And with that, she walked away.

Seelah stared after the sage for several moments a bit baffled by what just happened.

“What should we be looking for?” Amy asked, her eyes roaming the various sights in the town square.

The ghost had appeared so suddenly, no one else had noticed it yet. Seoni raced forward in order to defeat the ghost before it caused a panic. Thankfully she’d readied her force missile spell that morning, but an extra boost wouldn’t hurt.

“Amy,” she said, holding out her hand.

Without hesitation, her acolyte took her hand, lending what strength she could. It turned out to be more than enough. The ghost vanished as quickly and quietly as it had appeared, and Seoni even had enough power left over to recharge her spell. She looked down at Amy.

“She still has some learning to do, doesn’t she?” Trevin asked.

Seoni nodded. “She is only an acolyte, after all. She’ll learn how much energy to give in time.”

Thankfully there was an inn nearby where they could leave Amy while they continued their search.

Seelah was still shaking off her encounter with the sage, when she spotted a familiar looking robe. Her lips turned in a sneer. She didn’t have to take out the cultist, but she felt she needed to on general principle. She drew her longsword and charged the cultist. He didn’t stand a chance and fell to Seelah’s superior might.

The rush of battle faded quickly, and Seelah began to wonder why the cultist had been lurking near the city gate. There should have been guards to keep such unsavory types away.

As they exited the inn, Seoni noticed something across the square that didn’t look quite right. She motioned Trevin to follow her.

She sucked in her breath.

“What is it?” Trevin asked.

“A poison trap. No doubt set by Pillbug.”

Trevin’s hands strummed his lute nervously. “Can you disarm it?”

Seoni held up her masterwork tools. “Easily.”

Once she’d made sure the poison trap was completely harmless, she decided it was time to move on.

“I doubt Pillbug would want to be here if that trap was set off,” she told the troubadour, then noticed a familiar figure approaching.

The lack of guards was certainly disconcerting, but Seelah brightened a bit when she found a discarded longsword. She picked it up, comparing it to her current weapon.

Seelah waggled her head indicating perhaps that might be the case, but said, “It’s likely whoever left this behind isn’t in a position to need it anymore.”

“But -”

Seelah interrupted. “I just realized my chain mail needs some repairs,” she said. “Take it to the town blacksmith and see to it.”

Starla grumbled a bit but did as asked while Seelah admired her new weapon.

“Pillbug has been spotted at the village house,” Seva said in lieu of a greeting.

“You’re sure?” Seoni asked, and the standard bearer nodded.

They dashed off, and managed to catch Pillbug Podiker before he entered the village house. In their rush, Seoni had failed to prepare any spells, so she latched onto Trevin, using his energy to prepare a spell. She prayed for the gods’ blessings and knew Seelah was with her in spirit, then blasted her spell at Pillbug.

Unfortunately the spell only grazed the villain, and he ran off.

Seoni cursed her luck, and drew her Sage’s Journal from her bag. Next time she would be ready.

At first glance Seelah’s battle ready mind thought the furry creature approaching her was a monster, but it turned out to be a monster of snuggles. The big dog trotted happily over to her, and she gave its head a scratch.

“Well, hello,” she said warmly.

That was apparently all the dog needed, and it loped off.

“This has been an odd day,” Seelah muttered.

A man in a guard uniform turned the corner, but instead of the city guard Seelah was looking for, it was her ally from the night watch.

After making sure Trevin was taken care of, Seoni and Seva took off in pursuit of Pillbug. Unfortunately he’d gotten a decent lead on them, and they weren’t sure if he’d ducked into the general store or gone straight to the city gate. Knowing Seelah could stop him at the gate, Seoni decided to take the time to check the general store.

As soon as she stepped into the establishment, she knew something was wrong.

“What’s this?” Seva asked.

Seoni stopped the standard bearer from poking at the poison trap identical to the one in the town square.

“Something you shouldn’t touch,” Seoni growled.

Knowing her masterwork tools weren’t ready for another powerful trap, Seoni would have to rely on her dexterity to disarm this one.

Needing all the help she could get, she placed her hand on her Sage’s Journal and once more asked the gods to bless her. Luck was on her side, and she managed to disarm the trap.

She turned to Seva. “You could have killed everyone here,” she hissed.

“How was I supposed to know?” Seva said defensively.

“You should know not to touch something if you don’t know what it is.” Seoni shook her head. “You’re too inexperienced. I can’t risk you setting off another trap, so I’m afraid this is where we part ways.”

She turned away from the standard bearer, ignoring her protests, and noticed a Tome of Knowledge. Thinking it might come in handy, she took it to the proprietor for purchase.

Once pleasantries were out of the way, Seelah asked Nile, “Where are the guards who should be watching the city gate?”

Before he could answer, they were attacked by an ancient skeleton.

“I hate skeletons,” Seelah muttered.

“Not that I disagree, but why?” Nile asked as they readied their weapons.

“Because they’re harder to kill with a sword, but at least I get to try my new one out.”

She tossed down her pack and set to work dismembering the skeleton with her new longsword.